Reviews 2

Steel Magnolias

It was a bit of a risk, attempting a play like Steel Magnolias with kids, but it worked. There are very few plays which have all-female casts and are worth doing, and this is, I think, the best of them. But it does require a cast of talented and experienced actresses. My group of Year 11s who did it had been in all our school shows from Year 7, which meant that they had done thirteen shows in all, before they embarked on Steel Magnolias.

Staging looked as though it was going to be a problem - you do need the facilities to wash hair on-stage - but our CDT dept. did us proud. But not as proud as the actress would have liked - it was just cold running water! We also found a local hairdressing salon extremely helpful. Not only did their provide us with the hairdryers and other equipment, but they actually did the girls' hair backstage at the interval so that styles could change to indicate the passing of time. I would advise anyone thinking of doing this show to contact one of their local salons as soon as you start planning the show.

You do need older kids for this. 16 year olds are about the youngest who can get away with it and so, although it was a great success for us, I can't really recommend it unless you have a very experienced team. For those who have, it's another tenner: for those who haven't, you'd be mad even to think about it!

Teechers

Liken Steel Magnolias, John Godber's Teechers is a straight (i.e. non-musical) play, but it's a comedy and, as a result, more difficult to do. However, don't let that put you off. It's worth having a go at. And your audience will recognise an awful lot of your staff - perhaps even you!

It's written for three people, but I used seven (4M, 3F) and it worked well. I don't think it would have worked so well with more, however - although there is nothing to stop you using more.

Staging is easy: a bare stage with a few desks and chairs are all that's needed, and you can have great fun with different masks, hats and hand-props: for instance, we played the Deputy Head with a Frankenstein mask. One of our Deputies said he wanted a mask like it and was told by the other that he didn't need one!

Timing is of the absolute essence here and so if you have any natural comics, they'll be in their element. However they must be disciplined: it's too easy to get carried away and lose some of the humour by going over the top. Again, it's a play for more experienced, older kids.

Smike

Based on Nicholas Nickleby, with a large cast and the possibility of using a huge chorus, Smike would appear to be the perfect school show. Unfortunately the huge chorus should be all boys, but you can get round that by simply dressing your girls as boys.

But Smike tries too hard: the writers obviously looked at Joseph and thought that the recipe for success was to pastiche a whole variety of musical styles. The difference is that the Joseph songs are memorable, whereas those in Smike, although quite tuneful, are really quite forgettable.

It tries too hard in other ways too. Why, for instance, do the writers include a striptease scene? And especially with Mrs Squeers as the stripper? It reminds me of nothing so much as the Dame in a panto! And the message - "You think modern-day schools are bad? you should see what they were like in the 19th century" - is so patronising.

Five out of ten, I think.